[quote Flash Harry]If Toyota's mainstream cars got even a fraction of the style of the FT-86 it would be a step forward.they should let a designer loose at Lexus too,that brand needs a corporate face too.[/quote]

I could not agree more. I forgot how stunning the FT-86 concept is!! If they do it right they could have some of the best looking cars on the road.

I feel Lexus have more of a corporate face/look than Toyota because to me they are more instantly recognizable.

[quote evanstim]Since when did any Toyota have any style? [/quote]Toyota has produced any number of cars with distinctive style; their 3-door RAV4 a radical innovation, now in auto history books, and subsequent models just as pert and cheeky in design. One can also think of the MR2, and the 1Q.

What the company doesn't have is a coherent company standard or singularly identifiable grille. Then again, neither does Nissan. Like Jaguar of old there is something to be said for being free of styling constraints, free to make each car work on its own terms, according to its function.

The other route is to do as Mazda does, stick an artificially shaped company grille on all saloons and then add it to an established sports car, forced then to get everything behind it in harmony with it ... just as Jaguar are doing now.

Or worse, follow VW's example with its ersatz Bugatti - create a facsimile of a Bugatti grille, a rough approximation, and stick it on a large blob, creating a fireplace for a nose.

[quote Los Angeles][quote evanstim]Since when did any Toyota have any style? [/quote]Toyota has produced any number of cars with distinctive style; their 3-door RAV4 a radical innovation, now in auto history books, and subsequent models just as pert and cheeky in design. One can also think of the MR2, and the 1Q. [/quote]

Yes, the 3 door RAV4 is in the history books alright...as a vehicle bought mostly by women (it is estimated to be only second to the VW 'new' Beetle in the US...).

IMO, MR2 was nothing special, and the iQ is even less.

And I agree with other posters that the rest of the range (Avensis, Auris...which apparently got a facelift...) is so dull and forgetful. Life is short...make something more fun and interesting while we're here!

[quote Christian Galea]the 3 door RAV4 is in the history books alright...as a vehicle bought mostly by women [/quote]Not in any I've read. But if true it only confirms the vehicle extremely popular, V6 version too. You fail to address a single point I make. Discussing ideas makes car websites interesting rather than reiterating dogged opinion.